The Vinland Sagas: The Norse Discovery of America Character Descriptions

Eirik the Red - This character is thought to have lived between 950 and around 1003. He is widely believed to have created the Norse settlement in Greenland. His parents were forced to leave Norway due to some killings, as the Vinland Sagas report. They then settled in western Iceland but then this character got involved in several killings which lead him to be declared an outlaw around 982. While he was not the first Icelandic settler of Greenland, he was the first permanent settler and he is also said to have named it; in both sagas it is reported that he named the island 'Greenland' in order to attract settlers there. He would later be killed due to disease brought to Greenland by settlers. Despite Iceland's conversation to Christianity, along with Greenland's conversion, he died a believer in Norse paganism. His son would discover Vinland (part of present-day Newfoundland...